Daddy
by The Official Girl Wonder
Summary: Roy and Wally head to Gotham to help Dick, who's struggling to adjust to his new role as Batman. Everything's normal until Irey shows up...and Roy mistakes her for Lian.


**I'm not dead, and I haven't abandoned my other stories. Just...You know how it is. :p**

**Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, a certain little girl would never have died. Or at least she would be remembered. I'm really annoyed with the New-52 and how much it's taken away from our heroes. :(**

* * *

It was the first time that the three had gathered together in a long time. So much had occurred in the interval. So much transformation, tension...loss.

Roy shook his head. He wouldn't think about her. Not now.

"You guys really didn't have to come over..." Batman trailed off. Uncertainty.

Ah yes, that was the reason why he and Wally had insisted on visiting Gotham. The uncertainty. Dick's uncertainty.

Because Dick was the Batman now. Roy got a headache every time he thought about it. He'd keep his opinions to himself, of course — but their Boy Wonder just didn't belong in the cape and cowl. It was killing him on the inside. The last thing the man needed after Bruce died was more darkness.

So, here Roy was. Standing beside the Fastest Man Alive and the World's Second...No, just the World's Greatest Detective now.

_He always wanted that title_, Roy thought grimly.

"Are you kidding, man?" Wally said, nudging the raven-hair's armored forearm, "Why on Earth would we miss taco night, huh?"

Dick's brow furrowed in confusion, and Roy struggled to hide his smirk.

"Wally," the new Dark Knight said slowly, "The three of us haven't had taco night in five years."

"Which is exactly why we need to restart the tradition! Right, Roy?"

The archer walked forward and slung an arm around Dick's shoulder. The slightly younger man was still in his Bat-Suit, sans cowl. "Definitely, Twinkle Toes. What do you say, Short Pants? Titans together, right?"

Dick glared at him, but there was no fire behind it. "First, don't call me Short Pants."

"Why, because only Babs gets to call you that?"

"Shut up. Second, I have work to take care of. I appreciate you stopping by-"

Wally interrupted, "If you really appreciated it, you'd come back up to the manor with us and have some tacos, dude."

"Wally, I-"

"Daddy!"

The cave fell silent, and Roy was pretty sure his heart stopped beating. For one frantic moment, he forgot how to breathe.

_Lian?_

He whipped his head around, and briefly, he saw her. His _etai-yazi_. Except her hair was red again, like when he first laid his eyes on her. And she'd somehow gotten the freckles he had as a kid. Where had the goggles come from, and...Oh.

_Not Lian. Not Lian. Stop seeing Lian. It's-_

"Irey!"

_Irey. Irey. Not Lian. Not._

Roy tried his best to start breathing again. To tear his eyes away from the little girl who'd just sped into the cave because she wasn't his little girl because his little girl didn't have superspeed and his little girl wasn't. Alive.

He watched as Wally knelt in front of his daughter, placing his large hands on her tiny shoulders, asking why she was here and telling her how she was supposed to be with her mom. How he was already scheduled to see her and Jai tomorrow.

Oh, yeah. Wally was divorced now. Roy didn't remember why it had happened, but the kids lived with Linda. Which was stupid because speedster kids should be with speedster adults, especially since Irey wasn't really a master with her powers yet. And Jai needed his father in his life. And Wally should have fought harder for custody because _why would you allow your kids to be taken away from you? If I had a second chance, I'd never let her go. I'd..._

_Stop._

He finally tears his eyes away. He hopes Wally can convince the kid to go home soon because if she says "Daddy" one more time, he might just puke.

Dick places a hand on his shoulder. Those blue eyes are flooding with pity and Roy kind of wants to punch him for it.

"Roy."

Wally's voice is strained, as if he somehow thinks that this is his fault or Irey's fault or anyone's fault other than Roy's. Because he buried his _etai-yazi _years ago, and here he is, about to cry as if it was yesterday.

_Feels like yesterday._

He snaps himself out of it a little. He notices that Irey is no longer in the cave. When had she left? Wally looks like he used to in high school after those stupid kids would bash his head into a locker for not having a soul. Pained, but clueless as to what he could do to make it better.

Roy closes his eyes because he doesn't want to look into those sympathetic blue and green eyes anymore.

"I'm fine," he says. He doesn't even believe himself anymore.

Roy doesn't open his eyes until he hears Dick clear his throat and mutter, "Maybe taco night isn't such a bad idea."

And it makes Roy want to scream because the purpose of tonight was supposed to be making Dick feel better. Not coddling him and trying to keep the nightmares away.

_"But I need you. Daddy, didn't you hear me crying for you?"_

Later, in the kitchen, neither of his friends mentions that his taco shell is quickly getting tear-stained.

* * *

**That last quote is actually from the comics. I'm just not sure where.**

**When my brother read this, his main complaint was that tear-stained tacos probably wouldn't taste very good. We had an actual argument about whether or not it mattered how the tacos tasted, and how the point was that Roy was crying. My family...**

**Also, I realize that I switched from past to present tense about three quarters of the way through the story. That was originally accidental, but then I decided to keep it because I liked the effect. :) Creative license rocks!**

**You know the drill, my friends. R-E-V-I-E-W please! Thanks in advance.**


End file.
